NLS5 result: Verstappen suffers Nürburgring heartbreak after costly technical failure

The four-time Formula 1 world champion, sharing a Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Lucas Auer for Winward Racing, endured a dramatic outing during the second session at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

After a difficult qualifying for the NLS5 race, in which the team struggled to match the frontrunners in wet weather conditions, Verstappen fought his way to the front, executing a decisive move on Audi driver Christopher Haase and building a lead of over 30 seconds.

However, the Dutchman’s charge was ultimately cut short by a technical fault. The team confirmed that a damaged splitter on car #3 caused a loss of performance, costing crucial time and the race lead.

That setback opened the door for Alexander Sims, who capitalised to take victory in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II.

The Winward Racing crew spent around 28 minutes in the pits repairing the splitter damage. Auer later rejoined the race, but several laps down on the leaders. The Austrian eventually finished 39th after returning to action.

At the front, Ben Green who replaced Sims secured victory in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II, finishing just over 20 seconds clear of Niederhauser’s Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, while Thomas Preining completed the podium in the Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), holding off the Mercedes-AMG of Fabian Schiller.

Earlier, Verstappen admitted he is still learning how to extract the maximum from the car, acknowledging his relative inexperience in GT racing around the Nordschleife.

Speaking to NLS, the four-time world champion described the weekend as an important opportunity, particularly to help his teammate get up to speed, having had limited running so far.

The 28-year-old also noted that rival teams are making similar adjustments to optimise balance and performance, stressing the importance of getting everything right ahead of the main race.

Want to stay up to date with the latest events from the F1 paddock? GPblog’s Paddock Update is the place to be.

Follow and subscribe to our channels on Spotify and YouTube so you don’t miss a scoop as the actions and reactions continue across the Formula 1 scene.

Check out the latest episode of our Paddock Update here 👇